Page 174 of The Hunter's Empire

Images of Zora refuse to leave my mind. I remember her refusing to give up on that island even after she was injured. I remember her arguing with me over the smallest things simply because she refused to be intimidated.

I remember the dance at Elysian Haven, the quiet moments we stole away from everyone else, and waking up this morning with her asleep beside me, trusting me enough to let her guard down completely.

I tighten my grip on the handlebars.

I spent months convincing myself revenge was the only thing that mattered. Now there's only one thought in my mind. I amnotgoing to lose her.

By the time I reach her office, I see that the entire building has been taken.

Several unfamiliar SUVs sit outside the entrance while armed men in black tactical uniforms patrol the perimeter with military precision. They aren't Zora security. I know the company's personnel well enough to recognize every detail of their equipment, and these men are carrying different weapons, using different formations, and communicating through encrypted earpieces.

Even worse, I can see terrified employees gathered inside the lobby, forced onto the floor with their hands raised while gunmen keep watch over them.

Walking through the front entrance isn't an option. So I disappear into the alley beside the building and climb the external maintenance access leading toward the service level. Years of extraction work have taught me one lesson above all else. The quickest route is rarely the safest.

Once inside, I move through the maintenance corridors without making a sound, keeping to the blind spots between surveillancecameras. The building's layout is already familiar to me, allowing me to navigate almost instinctively.

Voices echo ahead. Two guards.

I wait until they reach the narrow service stairwell before stepping from the shadows.

Neither of them has time to raise his weapon.

The first man's rifle is redirected into the wall as my elbow crashes into his throat. He collapses immediately, gasping for air. Before the second can react, I drive him into the concrete railing, wrench the pistol from his hand, and strike the back of his neck hard enough to knock him unconscious. The entire exchange lasts only a few seconds.

I don't waste time. Their radios and weapons disappear into my gear before I continue upward.

The deeper I move into the building, the heavier the resistance becomes. Every floor holds another team searching for intruders, forcing me to adapt with every encounter. Rather than meeting them head-on, I use the building itself against them.

On the fifth floor, I trigger the emergency override on one of the freight elevators before drawing a patrol into the corridor with a deliberately thrown maintenance cart. The moment all three men step inside the lift to investigate, I slam the doors shut and disable the control panel from outside. Their fists pound uselessly against the metal doors as the elevator locks between floors, taking three armed men out of the fight without firing a single shot.

Floor after floor, I keep climbing. Every delay feels unbearable. Every second that passes gives Mikkel another second with Zora.

By the time I reach the executive level, my cover is gone. One of the remaining guards spots me the moment I step into the corridor.

"He's here!"

Gunfire erupts almost instantly. Bullets tear through the marble walls as I dive behind a reception desk, shards of stone exploding across the floor. I don't stay in cover for long. The moment one gunman advances, I slide across the polished floor, sweep his legs out from beneath him, and drive the butt of my pistol into his jaw before he can recover.

A second attacker rushes me from the left. I catch his wrist, twist the rifle free, and fire a controlled burst into the ceiling above the third guard, forcing him to flinch just long enough for me to close the distance. One hard strike to the ribs, another to the temple, and he drops beside the first.

The last guard hesitates. That hesitation costs him. I seize the front of his vest, use his own momentum against him, and hurl him through the glass partition separating the corridor from the conference room. The impact explodes through the floor as glass rains down around him. By the time he stops moving, he's unconscious beneath a blanket of shattered shards.

Silence settles over the corridor once more. My breathing remains steady, but my pulse pounds hard enough to feel in my ears. Only one door remains.

Zora's office.

I approach with measured steps, my pistol already raised. Muffled voices drift through the door, confirming what I'd beenpraying wasn't true. Keeping close to the wall, I ease the door open just enough to look through the narrow gap.

The first thing I see is the blood. Mikkel lies motionless across the carpet, a dark pool spreading steadily beneath his body. Sebastian is slumped against the edge of the desk, one hand clamped over his bleeding arm, his face drained of all color. Then my eyes find Zora.

A man stands directly in front of her, his back to me, the barrel of a pistol pressed against her forehead. I can't see his face, only the rigid set of his shoulders and the unnerving composure in the way he stands. The bodies on the floor, the armed men throughout the building, the absolute control he commands without saying a word… I don't need to see his face to know he's the one in charge.

As though sensing my presence, he slowly turns to face the door. A slow smile spreads across his face.

"So." He says, his voice carrying effortlessly through the silent office. "The Ghost finally arrived."

I don't answer. Every ounce of my concentration narrows to a single point. The gun against Zora's head. The angle. The distance. His stance. Every possible opening.